Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) + Concussion Management

“On July 24, 2015, Senate Bill 5083, also known as the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Act, became

effective. The law mandates that ALL players and parent(s)/guardians annually read and acknowledge an

informed consent form relating to the nature and risk of sudden cardiac arrest prior to the use of any

school facilities in the State of Washington. Coaches are also required to

complete sudden cardiac arrest training every three years on the nature and risk

of sudden cardiac arrest prior to the first practice/competition. This education shall include signs and

symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. The new law is an important step in ensuring player safety and

mitigating sudden cardiac arrest risk.”

Coaches should keep in mind that sudden cardiac arrest training is mandatory before your first

practices.

Requirements for Teams

In order to comply with SB 5083, there are two main areas of immediate action for teams:

Annual Statement of Compliance (waiver) from Parent/Guardian and Player – each year, prior to the beginning of the season, each registered player and the player’s parents and/or guardian must sign and submit to the team or club a statement of compliance that the player and parents have both reviewed an online pamphlet providing information about sudden cardiac arrest.

Coach Training and Certificate of Completion Every Three Years - every three years, all coaches and assistant coaches must complete an online sudden cardiac arrest prevention program and submit a certificate showing completion of the program to their team. WIAA is working on a training program for coaches; in the meantime, WIAA recommends the use of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) online training. The training takes approximately 15 minutes and is available for free at https://nfhslearn.com/courses/61032.

Concussion Management

Washington has enacted the Zachary Lystedt Act to bring awareness to concussion in youth Athletics. Each program is required to abide by this rule.

In the following pages there is information provided about concussions. With the evolving research in the area WSLA can not guarantee the accuracy of the information. The best resource is your pediatrician. The Center for Disease Control has published information at the below link. If the link does not work, please copy it an paste it into your browser.